Thursday, August 06, 2009

Frustrations

Thank the Lord we have outgrown these mad fits, but I sure felt like pitching one myself yesterday. First of all, the structural engineer that was suppose to come and solve all of my great room questions didn't show up at all. We still are unsure which direction to take and now I am a bit concerned about taking the advice of someone who makes an appointment with me and doesn't even bother to call when he decides not to keep the appointment. He better have a good reason for not calling! Secondly, our email crashed. If you are waiting on an email from me, you better go do something else. I no longer have my email contacts to get back with you. You are welcome to resubmit an email to me and I can now answer it, but we lost everything in our email program. It was just one of those days yesterday. I guess everybody has them from time to time.

3 comments:

when it rains it pours doesn't it? I love computers, when they work, I have learn to keep a written copy of everything, nothing beats good old pen and paper, haha,I hope you have heard from the engineer by now and are knee deep in getting your remodeling done, p.s. we are picking out our puppy this weekend I think, they are 3 weeks old, any advice you have on food, etc, I would appreciate, I do have a shovel, haha

bsadams,Oh... a new mastiff puppy. I am so excited!!!! We used the food the breeder used which was Purina One. Missy has done great on this. We didn't get Missy until she was about 5 months old. That is how we got such a good deal on her. The breeder needed to get rid of her! I also recommend picking up some STRONG chew toys at somewhere like Petsmart. We have used the Kong toys, and they worked. Eventually she did chew them completely up. We now have a bone that is a large version of a Nylabone. It is hard as a rock and she has had it for about 2 years and it is still in perfect condition. I also like the leashes that are like a choke collar. They are usually nylon and they are made as a leash with a loop on the end. This works best with Missy because when she feels the tightening she stops fighting. It also helps because it is a one size fits all kind of deal. We could never find a real choke collar big enough for her when she reached full growth. She is about 185 pounds now. The best advice I can give is to keep the mastiff with you as much as you can. They want to be with their people at all times...especially when they are puppies. At dinner time, Missy still crawls under the table and lays on our feet to be close to us. When they are puppies and up until about age 3, if you can't be with the dog then confine him. (I am assuming you are having the dog live in the house. This won't hold true for an outside puppy). Missy was a year old and she hadn't chewed anything up for several months. I left to run the oldest boy to school. It took me about 20 minutes round trip. She was laying in our bed asleep so i just shut the bedroom door. When I got back home, she had eaten a $80 set of sheets, a $100 down blanket, a hole was chewed out of my husband's pillow, and she had a huge hole chewed in our mattress! I learned my lesson that day. After that, she always went into the bathroom when we had to leave her. She did fine there. Now she is old enough to be able to stay wherever she wants in our house when we are gone. I just shut the door to my bedroom and she has freedom to go upstairs or downstairs. She no longer bothers anything. This brings me to my last piece of advice. No matter how cute...or cuddly...or anything else...don't allow that cute little bundle of puppyhood to sleep with you or your children. They do grow up and then they always want to sleep with you and your children. If I could go back and redo one thing with our English Mastiff it would be that I would have never put her in the bed with me when she was little. They are wonderful cuddle mates, but they are just too big as adults. Missy still crowds my children out of bed many nights. I find Missy on the teenager's bed and he is sleeping on the couch. She sheds so this also has me doing much more laundering of sheets and comforters than need be. Also if you find the teenager with your little puppy on the couch, beat him and scold the puppy. Our kids didn't listen very well, and they snuck her on the couch whenever I wasn't watching. Now we have a 185 pound dog that sleeps on the couch when she isn't sleeping on a bed. I would prefer her to sleep on a nice doggy bed. You will want to take your puppy for fun car rides. They are too big of a dog to be afraid of going in a car. This has helped get Missy to the vet. She likes the car ride so she is willing to load up whenever we give her the opportunity. Just watch out for the UPS truck. Missy still runs and gets in the UPS truck any chance she gets. She doesn't want to get out until she has gone for a ride. I am just thankful that our UPS guy likes dogs!! Let me know if I can help you in anyway!!! grace and peace,julie

Ashley,He would be so upset with me if he knew I posted that picture of him. He used to be a huge fit thrower, but he has learned to conquer that part of his life. My kids would love to get a picture of me in one of my "Mad Momma fits". They just know it probably would be a bad idea!!! Enjoy your weekend.grace and peace,julie

The musings of a godly husband and wife seeking a simpler life in today's world. Pour a cup of coffee and spend time with us as we ramble on about spirituality, raising children, farm steading, politics, sports, woodworking, and all the other things in life we enjoy.